


Baby At The Step

by marysoljames



Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Babyfic, Christmas Fluff, Crying, Cute, Cute John Watson, Fluff, Happy John, John Watson is Sherlock Holmes's Son, John Watson is an attention whore, Johnlock - Freeform, Other, Sherlock dad, Zoo, a lot of cute baby shit happens, baby john - Freeform, father sherlock, smol john watson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-30
Updated: 2017-04-27
Packaged: 2018-09-03 05:23:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,069
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8698711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marysoljames/pseuds/marysoljames
Summary: Sherlock comes home one day to find a baby at his front step. He makes a deal with Mycroft to take care of him for a week and Sherlock and the baby go through a grand adventure with one another





	1. The Beginning of an Adventure

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to attempt to update once a week on Thursdays, but don't take my word for it.

It was a was a chilled April night in London. There was a thin blanket of snow on the late night pavement as a pale, lanky man walked down the street. Sherlock was returning home from a long day surrounded by stupidity. He was deep in thought with the details of a case when the toe of his shoe bumped into something on his front step. There, in front of flat building 221, was a small basket with blankets inside. There was a soft, high pitched moan and a small stir from the contents inside. Sherlock’s eyes widened, he knew what was in the basket.

The lanky man swept up the basket in his arms and rushed into the apartment building. He hurried over to the door at the side of the stairs and began to bang at it.

“Mrs. Hudson!” Sherlock screamed between every knock.

He pounded on his dear landlady’s door to no avail, Mrs. Hudson had left for holiday the day before and wouldn’t be back for a week. With the noise from Sherlock’s desperate pounding yelling, the baby woke up from it’s slumber and began to whine in protest, loudly.

Sherlock, now panicked, turned and ran back up the stairs, taking three steps at a time and rocking the baby crazily as he did. It cried louder, if possible, as Sherlock reached his flat and slammed the door. His first instinct was to reach for the phone in the pocket of his overcoat. The curly-haired man dropped, basically tossed, the basket onto the couch. Trying to ignore the new ringing in his ear, he scrolled through his cell looking for a certain number that could help him.

He finally reached his annoying older brother’s name in his contact list and immediately called. He paced up and down the room as the phone rang and went to voicemail. Sherlock called again, it did the same. Running his hands through his curled hair, he gave one final attempt, this time there was an reply.

“You know, Sherlock, most people usually wait until a decent hour to call their sibl-. Sherlock is that a child crying?”

“I need it out, Mycroft,” Sherlock screamed into the phone to be heard over the baby, who, with every passing minute, seemed to be getting louder and louder. The pale man heard a small chuckle come from the phone,

“Sherlock, how on earth did you get a baby?”

“Does it matter?” Sherlock responded curtly, starting to lose his temper from having to deal with the baby and his brother. “I just want it gone. Just send someone over to get it.”

“Ah, dear Sherlock, and if I did, then what would you do for me in return?” the older brother asked.

“Do for you?” Sherlock scoffed, “Nothing. Just get this child out of my bloody flat, Mycroft.”

“Oh, so, you don’t want me to take care of thesmall beast for you?” He mocked.  
Sherlock groaned, he didn’t want to be indebted to his older brother, but he wanted that dreaded child out of his apartment.

“What do you want,” said Sherlock with displeasure. He could feel his brother’s smug smile forming from across the line at his easy defeat.

“I’ll send someone over to pick up the child, but,” Mycroft paused for effect, proud of having gotten his brother trapped in a corner, “you have to watch it for a week.”

“WHAT?”

Sherlock felt his eyes almost fell out of his skull.

“Just a week,” Mycroft clarified, “and I’ll send someone over immediately to take the baby to a nice orphanage.”

“No deal,” Sherlock quickly responded after overcoming his shock, “I’ll get rid of it myself then.”

“Then I’ll just have to make it impossible for you to give it away,” Mycroft replied smugly.

“You wouldn’t.”

The deal laid between the two brothers as they both challenged the other to back down from their side.

Normally, Sherlock would have stayed on the phone and tested his cake-loving brother’s patience, but the pale man’s nerve was running short as the demon in the basket continued to shriek at the top of it small lungs.

“Fine,” said Sherlock, giving in to his desire to rid of the baby. He hung up the phone before he had to listen to his brother rub in his victory.

 

~

  
Sherlock had attempted to go to bed after having the phone call with Mycroft, but had no luck with getting any sleep.

The baby was relentless with it’s whines, and Sherlock hadn’t the slightest clue as to how to make it quiet.

After lying in bed for another twenty minutes with his head burrowed between a pillow and his blankets, he snapped.

He stormed out of his room, hands clutched at his sides and face red, and screamed,

“SHUT UP!”

He ripped off the blanket that had been covering the baby since its arrival to look at the ungodly monster that had been making so much noise these past hours.

His pale chest heaved as he got a look at the baby for the first time. The baby stopped its screaming as soon as the light touched its face.

For a moment everything was silent, for the first time in hours. Sherlock gazed into the blond baby’s deep, cocoa-colored eyes, and it stared back at the man’s own bright blue ones. It didn’t look more than a few weeks old. They stood still in that moment for a few seconds, just staring at one another, and the lanky man felt a slight pull somewhere deep inside him.  
The moment ended though when the baby began it’s shouting once again, scared at the sight of someone that wasn’t its mother. Sherlock groaned aloud. “Why won’t you stop?!”  
He clutched his ears in an attempt to block out the noise. As he did so he noticed a small piece of parchment that had fallen on the floor. He bent over to pick it up and walked over to his “desk” and unfolded the carefully written letter.

_To whom it may concern,_  
_This beautiful boy was born on the 31st day of March at a weight of 4.5kg and a height of 45 cm. His name is John Watson and loves to he held and shown love. He is the most precious thing in the world to me, and that’s why I must leave him with you. I cannot care for the sweet child at the moment, and I want him to have only the best life, one full of laughter and joy. If you cannot care for my sweet boy, I understand, but please find somewhere that will be safe and make him smile._  
_Love,_  
_A gracious mother_

Sherlock reread the letter a few more times, in the hopes of being able to identify who the writer was. Some words were smeared from the tears the woman had so obviously shed as she wrote the note.

Sherlock folded the note back up and shoved it into his back pocket. He took a quick glance at the small baby, still crying in its basket on the couch, and opened his laptop and began to research. He may not have wanted the little boy, but Sherlock did indeed want him to shut up.


	2. Finding Help

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you like it and let me know if you like my new character

Later with bags under his eyes and a still whining baby, Sherlock had done all the research he could on how to care for one of the small creatures. If he wanted to get rid of this baby, he would at least have to make sure that it was well kept.

It was well past noon when Sherlock got up from his desk to check on the baby. John had continued to cry on and off through the night but truly stopped whining. The dark haired man went over to the baby and tried to figure out what John wanted through tired eyes. Eventually he concluded that the baby must have been hungry and stumbled over to the fridge in search of some milk. Shifting through his experiments of body parts in his fridge, Sherlock found that there was not a single ounce of milk or food for either him or the baby to eat. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he went over to the coat rack and shrugged on his overcoat. 

As he left the apartment, Sherlock looked back at the baby in the basket. 

Should I really leave him? He thought. The Tesco was only a few blocks away and he wouldn’t be long.

The pale man closed the door and rushed down the stairs, hurrying to go and get some milk in the hopes that it would make the baby stop crying. As he reached the bottom of the steps, he stopped for a second. Baby John’s loud screams could still be heard from the floor below.

“He’ll be fine,” Sherlock whispered to himself as he pulled up the collar of his coat. He shoved his hands in his pocket and left the flat.

He returned two seconds later, letting out a large huff as he hurried back to the baby. He lifted John out of the basket and wrapped him tightly in the soft blue blanket he had been left with and hugged him close to his warm chest beneath his coat, so John wouldn’t get cold. Sherlock resumed his trek down the stairs and to the market.

~

The baby had whined the entire way to Tesco’s but seemed to have calmed down slightly now that he was warm and being held by Sherlock. As Sherlock walked through the market with a screaming baby, concerned parents looked at him as though he had been torturing the poor thing. He stalked over to dairy to where he knew the milk was and picked the first gallon on the shelf. 

Holding John in one hand and the gallon in the other, Sherlock stalked back over to the front of the store to pay.  
Suddenly there was a pain on his right side as he was hit by a cart.

“Oh, I’m so terribly sorry, sir,” mumbled the tall, redheaded woman. She had a girl in the seat of her cart, a boy in the basket of it, another holding on to the hem of her shirt, and, lastly, the one in her large stomach. The slight fear that came at her face from hitting the even taller man melted away as she saw the child wrapped in his arms.

“First-time father?” 

She raised an eyebrow at him and nodded toward the crying child.

“No,” said Sherlock a bit too loudly. “Um, I mean, the baby isn’t mine. It's a friend’s. They’ve asked me to take care of him.” After a quick debate in his mind he added, “I don’t quite know what to do with him.”

The woman chuckled back at him,

“Well, darling, you’ve asked the right person.” She extended her arms towards the baby. “May I?”

Sherlock looked down at the noisy bundle in his arms and handed John over. 

It was like watching a machine at work. The women knew automatically what to do with the crying child, and Sherlock took mental notes. The first thing she did was loosen the blanket around the child's plump body and smell it. She scrunched up her nose at the smell of John’s bottom.

“When was the last time you changed and fed him?”

“Last night,” Sherlock lied.

“Hum, then that’s the problem.” She took a bottle from the bag at her and put it to the baby's mouth. Immediately John opened his mouth and accepted the bottle. He drank the warm milk graciously. The tall man stood in shock as he watched the baby, for the first time, do something besides cry. The woman traded off the baby for Sherlock’s gallon of milk and began to waddle away.

“Follow me, dear,” she said over her shoulder, “And my name’s Lindsey, by the way.”

The pale figure took a few large strides to catch up with the redheaded woman and followed close behind. The woman weaved her cart, child, and Sherlock through the aisles until they reached the baby section at the back of Tesco’s. She turned back toward him, hands on her hips.

“You clearly don’t have a clue as to what you’re doing, so I’m going to show you the basics.” Lindsey walked over to the diapers and picked out a box of Pampers and a case of wipes. “This is one of the most important things you’ll need. If you don’t change him, he’ll get a rash. If he gets a rash, then he’ll cry. When he cries, you cry.”   
The next half hour was spent in the baby aisle with the redhead giving the curly-haired man a lesson on how to treat babies and how to take care of them.

~

Coming home, Sherlock looked at the unbelievably large amount of money he had paid to care for the baby he was only caring for for a week. He had wanted to take less of everything Lindsey had handed him, but she insisted upon every item. She had given him her number just in case he had questions about anything or needed help and even changed John’s diaper. Never had Sherlock been so thankful for someone.

When the two reached the flat, Sherlock dropped the bags at the front door and staggered over to his bedroom. He made a small little wall out of pillows for the baby and stripped him of the blanket. He laid John, who was already half asleep, down flat on the bed and he laid there peacefully. Sherlock watched John’s sleep on his bed. 

He really had never looked at John since the small moment they shared when he had stopped crying; now he was truly seeing the baby. John had on a dark blue onesie with zebra faces at the toes, but you could tell that it had been a hand-me-down of sorts by the way it fit him. The zip looked like it was about to burst and the legs and arms of the outfit were scrunched up so they wouldn’t dangle about his body.

He looked at the pillow border and knew that wouldn’t do, but for now it would suffice.

I suppose I can steal a bassinet from Lestrade, he thought. It’s not like he needs it.

Sherlock continued to watch John for awhile before he collapsed next to his small body and fell asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading and once again leave in the comments any ideas of cute thing John and Sherlock can do.


	3. Sherlock's First Day

Sherlock woke a few hours later with the cries of John just before dawn. Now knowing the baby’s routine, he got up and made a warm bottle of formula for John. He threw one of the new zoo animal bottles he had bought from Tesco in the microwave and heated it up for a few seconds. He returned back to the room with the now warm formula and cradled John in his arms as he fed him. While John quietly sucked away at his bottle, Sherlock began to smell a sour stench that could only mean one thing. This was the thing he had dreaded most.

As he fed the baby, he looked over at his jacket and remembered the woman that had helped him at the store. As desperately as he wanted to call, he knew that Lindsey would not appreciate being bothered at this hour just to change a baby. 

“If she can do this, as can I,” he whispered to John, “Besides, how hard could it be?”

He let John finish his bottle before taking him over to the kitchen. He moved the small experiments he had strewn around the table aside and set John’s blue blanket down on its wooden surface. He placed John flat on his back and stared for a second as he tried to figure out what he needed.

“Diapers,” he announced to John and went over to the door to open the box of diapers he had bought yesterday. John watched as the curly haired man took out the wipes and opened the box to take out a diaper. He laid his materials down on either side of the baby and, once again, stared at John. The child lay on the table looking like a frog that was about to be dissected. John tilted his head curiously at the curly haired man, waiting to see what he would do next. 

Sherlock kept the image of John as a frog in his head to help him stay a bit more focused. He began his dissection as he would any other: he put on gloves and goggles and began to unzip John’s onesie. As he looked down at the now open subject, he saw the flaps that held the diaper in place. He undid one, then the other, and then hesitated. The next step was not one he was looking forward to. He folded back the diaper to reveal an ungodly amount of shit. His eyes watered from the smell, and he gagged at the sight, he had to turn away to keep from puking. He had smelled plenty of corpses, but nothing, nothing, compared to the huge pile of crap that lay in front of him. He took a moment to compose himself, more his pride than his physical state, and proceeded to clean the baby. 

The rest from there was easy; all he had to do was remember the steps he had memorized. He cleaned, re-diapered, and zipped John up, and the great battle between Sherlock and his first diaper change was over. He put the satanic diaper in a bag and put it in the bin outside the flat.

He picked John up off the table and looked over at the clock as it was almost the time that Lestrade left for work. He didn’t want to have to hold John the entire time he was here, but he couldn’t go out and get the bassinet with John in his arms. He looked back into his room and thought about phoning Lindsey once again. He glanced back at the clock on the mantel, which read 6:30. 

I’ll figure something out, he thought.

He then went about the house seeing what he could do with a baby in his arms.

~

After a day of trying to perform everyday tasks with the baby in Sherlock’s arms, he had had enough. He tried continuing one of his experiments but only seemed to be going backwards in progress. Sherlock tried to mix chemicals one-handedly and almost burned the baby. He had also attempted to solve a small crime that he had seen online, but John’s whining and fidgeting didn’t allow him to concentrate on what he was doing He needed that bassinet from Lestrade, now.

Still holding John in his arms, as he had nowhere else to put him, the lanky man hurried over to his overcoat and reached into his pocket for his phone. He selected Lindsey’s number and typed, with difficulty, 221B Baker Street. Come if convenient. If inconvenient, come anyway. Could be entertaining. -SH

He only had to wait half an hour before he heard a ring at the front step. Sherlock rushed down to the front door to let the redhead in and was, somehow, shocked at the scene. Not only did she have the four children that she had at the supermarket, including the one in her stomach, but she had another, much older, child with her. “What seems to be the problem, Sherlock?” she automatically responded at the sight of his face, “You made it sound urgent.” 

“Nothing bad,” he replied, “I just need a favor of you.”

He lead the small army up the steps to his flat. 

“Mum, who’s this?” said a child who sounded like the oldest. “A friend, now be polite,” Lindsey responded. He showed the children the sitting room and let them settle in. He took Lindsey into the kitchen, so he could have a word.

“So how’s little John doing?” the redhead asked as she reached out for him, “Looks a lot better than the last time I saw him.” Sherlock obediently handed John over to Lindsey but wanted to get away from the small talk she was attempting.

“He's fine, but listen,” said Sherlock, getting straight to the point. “I need you to watch the baby for awhile. I have to run an errand, and I can’t take him with me.”  
Lindsey gave him a sideways look, “Sherlock you’ve just met me.”

“Yes, and?”

“And you're trusting, a woman you just met, with your … I’m sorry, whose baby is this again?” 

Damn, Sherlock knew that this question would come up sooner or later, but he had hoped it would never come up at all. 

“Oh, it’s, ah, a good friend of mine’s baby. She’s gone off on a trip to the, ah, states,” he said quickly, bullshitting the story as he went. 

“Oh, really,” Lindsey responded, clearly not buying the story, “What have they gone to do in ‘the states?’”

Sherlock heard a small commotion start in the sitting room, and looking over Lindsey’s shoulder, Sherlock saw it was coming from the two youngest of the bunch.

“They had work to do in Chicago,” replied Sherlock. The redhead looked him in the eyes, and Sherlock did the same in return. They held each other's gaze until there was a sound of something being hit and a child crying. Only then did Lindsey look away. 

“Derek, what did you do to your sister?” she said as she looked over her shoulder to see what the two children had done. The two had been fighting over a toy car that the toddler Derek now held in his hands and, from the looks of it, he had hit the little pig-tailed girl in the forehead with it to get his victory. 

Lindsey gave the baby back to Sherlock and rushed over to the little girl. She bent down to be at level with her as she rubbed her hand over where her daughter had been injured. “It’s all right, Lauren. It’s only a small bump,” she said sweetly with a small smile. She leaned over and kissed Lauren's forehead. “There, all better now.” The girl’s whines ceased with her mother’s magical kiss, and she began to smile again. Lauren turned around and went off to explore something she had seen earlier in the flat. Lindsey turned to Derek, who had been trying to hide behind the armchair, and her sweet smile turned into a hard scowl. 

“Derek, come out from over there.” Nothing happened until she said, “Now.” 

The brown-haired boy poked out his head from his hiding place and began to creep out as if he already knew the drill. He slowly walked over to his mother with his head down.

“Derek how many times have I told you that you have got to share with your sister?”

“A gagillion times...”

“Well then, I guess this means I have to punish you for the gagillionth time.”

Derek looked up from the floor and gave his mother puppy eyes. “But, Mummy, I’m really sorry. Please don't be mad at me. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

“Derek Dmitri Phillips, do not give me that look. You are not getting out of this one.”

There was silence as the two stared at one another.

“Fine, you win,” Lindsey said in defeat. 

The hazel-eyed boy dropped the act and hugged his mother, laughing.

“But only because you have your father’s eyes and charm. Now go and play with your brother and Lauren.” 

Derek nodded vigorously and beckoned his brother. “Nathan, come on, let’s go play hide ‘n’ seek.” Nathan looked up from his toy soldiers and shoved them into his pocket as he got up to play with his brother.

The two ran off to find their sister, and that was the end of the chaos. Lindsey let out a sigh as she watched the two run along. She looked over at the only child that remained in the room. The oldest girl sat on the armchair that Derek had tried to hide behind, the entire time they had been there she had been on her phone typing endlessly. 

“Spencer, could you please keep a better on eye on your brothers and sister while I’m busy. I would really appreciate it.” 

Spencer looked up from her phone for a second and said, “Whatever,” and went back to whatever she was doing. 

The redhead went back over to Sherlock, where he stood with John in his arms, impressed by what Lindsey had accomplished with her children. He'd never seen anyone handle situations as efficiently as the mother of five just had.

“I’ll watch him for you, but you owe me,” she said when she reached him. “And I know you’re hiding something about John, but I’ll let it go for now. Just know that later I'm going to find out what.”

Sherlock let out a sigh of relief as he handed John back over to Lindsey.

“Thank you,” he said as he hurried over to the coat rack and grabbed his over coat. “And I'm not hiding anything.” He was halfway out the door when he turned back to the family inside. “Just to be sure, these are all of them, right? You don’t have more children hiding in a closet somewhere, do you?”

Lindsey let out a loud chuckle. She patted her stomach and said, “So far.”

With that, Sherlock left out the door to go and steal Lestrade's bassinet.


	4. Good Bye

The next few days had gone by in a blur. Sherlock had barely managed to keep his head in place, but it had been manageable with help. Lindsey made it a habit to come over to Sherlock’s to help him with the baby ever since she witnessed him almost kill the baby during one of his experiments. Sherlock slowly began to learn about the different habits of the Phillips family.   
Nathan loved to play with his little army men because they reminded him of his father. Mr. Phillips was in the Army, and Nathan would make up stories for his little brother and sister, Derek and Lauren. Derek was the little rascal of the pack who always seemed to be in trouble but knew how to get out of it. Lauren was a sweetheart and a mummy’s girl, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t tough. She was always trying to one-up her brothers but had developed a fondness towards John. The pig-tailed girl loved to play with John, and she always made him giggle. Lastly, Spencer hadn’t shown much of herself since Lindsey had started coming daily, but she did show some interest in the chemistry set Sherlock always had lying around in the kitchen.  
“You’d make a great father,” Lindsey said out of the blue one day as she and Sherlock watched her children play with building blocks.   
Sherlock’s eyes widened in surprise, “Why do you think that?”   
“Because,” she replied, “I see the way you look at him, like you would do anything to protect him even though he’s not your own.”   
The sun rose and fell, and too soon did it become Saturday.  
“It’s sad that it’s all coming to an end,” said Lindsey that afternoon.   
“What is?” replied Sherlock as he fed John his bottle.   
“John. Your friend and her husband, they come back tomorrow don’t they?” The statement took the air right out of Sherlock’s lungs. He had completely forgotten about his deal with Mycroft.   
“Oh, yes, they’re coming later tomorrow for him.”   
What are you upset for, he thought, you don’t want this baby in the first place, and it’s finally about to be gone.  
The day finished, and Lindsey left a bit later than usual, making sure that she gave John enough kisses to last him a lifetime before she parted ways with him. “I’m really going to miss him,” Lindsey said as she held John and rubbed their noses together. “I’m also going to miss having someone to talk to who’s not under the age of 25.”   
She handed back John and gave Sherlock one final wave before she left forever. He looked down at John in his arms, who was already making himself comfortable, and felt his spirit drop once more. This was the last day that he would have the baby, and although he wanted him gone just a few days ago, he couldn’t help but feel something had changed.  
The lanky man put the baby to rest in Greg’s bennett and lay in bed. Sleep never came to Sherlock as he waited for Mycroft to arrive.  
~  
Morning came, and John woke for his bottle. Sherlock went through the routine; it was the last time he would ever do any of this. With bloodshot eyes he cleaned John and changed his onesie to one of Derek’s hand-me-downs. They still were a bit small, but Sherlock didn’t want to go out and buy them.  
With the baby cradled in his arms, he went over to the fridge and retrieved the basket John had arrived in. As Sherlock looked down into it, he was reminded of his first day with John. He giggled at the fact that he had actually flung the basket onto the couch and the long string of events that unfolded in that sleepless night.   
He waited for for the next hour on his couch with John in his arms, waiting for his brother.   
He’ll be gone, Sherlock thought, and everything with be back to normal.  
He stared down at the baby, and it felt as if the next hour had gone by so quickly. There was a sudden knock at the door that announced his brother’s arrival.  
Sherlock carefully walked over to the door, as he was trying not to wake up the baby, and answered it.  
“Hello, Sherlock,” said the slightly plump man at his door, “I see you kept the little beast alive.”  
Mycroft pushed past Sherlock and into the flat.  
“You’ve had people over,” he said as he inspected the flat, “And a woman of all people. How on earth did that happen?” “Don’t see girls coming by yours often either, Mycroft.”   
“Humph,” Mycroft stuck up his nose went over to the window and looked out into the afternoon sky.  
“So are you ready, Sherlock?”  
Sherlock looked down at the small baby in his arms, fast asleep and warm. He closed his eyes and took in a deep breath, “Yes.”  
A single phrase had never hurt so much. He placed John in his basket and wrapped him in the blue blanket. Sherlock then looked at the small paper that stuck out at the edge of the basket, and the woman’s words swam through his head.  
Please find somewhere that he will be safe.  
Sherlock removed it from the basket and went over to Mycroft. “Here, it came with the baby.”   
Mycroft looked down at the small note and took it from his brother. He opened up his jacket and place it in his inner pocket then.  
“All right then, with that I shall leave you.” Mycroft moved towards the door and grabbed the basket on the way out with a bit too much force for Sherlock’s comfort.  
“Find him somewhere he’ll be safe, Mycroft,” he said as his brother left the flat.   
Sherlock went back to the couch and sat with his head buried in his head.   
Why does this feel so wrong?  
He sat silently as he listened to the slamming of the door as Mycroft left and to John’s cry as he had been woken from his nap.  
He’ll be in a better place, he thought, Besides, I’m not fit to be a father.  
He listened to the late April wind rattle the windows and carry John’s muffled screams as Mycroft entered his car. There was no turning back now; what was done was done.   
Sherlock heard his brother’s car pull away from the pavement.  
“Fuck it,” the pale man said, and he ran for the door. Never had he been so desperate for something. He burst out of 221, looked for Mycroft’s limo, and caught a glimpse of it turning the corner.  
The game was on as Sherlock sprinted after the car, running faster than he believed.  
I am the safe place for John.  
“MYCROFT,” he yelled at the top of his lungs in the hopes that his brother would hear him.   
Sherlock saw a blur in the tinted windows move, and the limo came to a halt. He jogged over to it and upon his arrival, the window rolled down. Mycroft raised an eyebrow at his brother, “Yes, Sherlock?”  
“You can’t take John,” Sherlock said panting.  
“And why’s that? I thought we had a deal.”  
“Well, the deal's off.”  
“I was under the impression that you didn’t want anything to do with the little creature.”  
“Things change.”  
The two boys men stared in each other’s eyes for a moment as Sherlock waited for his brothers answer.   
“If you feel that that’s what you want, then fine, but are you sure about this?”  
“I’ve never been sure of anything else.”  
“All right, then,” he opened the door of the car and handed the basket to Sherlock. When the baby caught sight of his blue eye’s, John immediately calmed. “Remember you can’t turn back now,” Mycroft said as he closed the door. Sherlock stood there and watched his brother drive away, and once the car was out of sight he walked back home, holding the basket close to his body.  
When the two arrived at 221B, Sherlock cradled John in his arms and didn’t let go until it was time to put him down for the night.


	5. Happy Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I've been gone awhile but I'm back. I hope this long chapters makes up for my time missing.

When Lindsey had learned that Sherlock and John weren’t going anywhere for Christmas, she immediately invited them over for theirs. Sherlock had never really had a real Christmas so he never thought it to be something important in his and John’s lives. His parents had only ever used the holiday as a social event to make good relations with people they thought to be important or useful for business and his comrades never invited him to their parties. Normally he would spend Christmas - and every other holiday - by himself and conduct experiments.

When he arrived, the house was a lot quieter than Sherlock had expected. Lindsey opened the door in her pyjamas and her hair in a messy bun but no screams followed her like usual. Instead of her children, her parents were sat on the couch, watching Sherlock curiously from their seat. 

“Happy Christmas” Sherlock said as he entered the household. 

“Happy Christmas” Lindsey responded, “Sorry I’m a mess I’ve just got so many things to do and the extra weight isn’t helping.”

Sherlock glanced over at the couch, hoping Lindsey would understand what he wanted. Luckily, she did.

“Oh, yes, those are my parents, Anne and William Phillips. Mum, dad, this is Sherlock.”

“Hello,” Sherlock said as he waved and walked into the apartment. John copied his father and waved at the new people in the room. Anne’s face lit up as she gave a little wave back. William didn’t react and still had a look of confusion on his face. 

“Okay, well, you guys make small talk. I’ve got to go finish preparing dinner.” 

With that, Lindsey left the room and left Sherlock to fend for himself.

Sherlock sat in the arm chair across from her parents and placed John on his lap. The four of them sat in silence for a few moments before Lindsey’s father cleared his throat.

“So you’re the man our daughter’s been telling us about. Sherlock, right?”

“Yes,” Sherlock answered tersely. He wasn’t one for conversation and didn’t really know how to react to William’s question.  
The silence continued until Lindsey’s mother chimed in, 

“ So, what’s his name?” she asked nodding her head towards the infant. 

“John,” Sherlock said as his son let out a burst of laughter at the sounds of his name. 

“And where’s your wife, Sherlock?” William asked. The pale man heard the slight noise in the kitchen stop. The couple waited expectantly for Sherlock’s response. 

“Um, I don’t have a wife.”

“Oh so is John not your baby,” Anne asked. There was a look of confusion on both of their faces. 

“He is.” Sherlock started fidgeting in his chair. The parents waited expectantly for an explanation. 

“Well then,” William paused looking for the right words, “do you have a husband?”

“No,” Sherlock replied hoping they could get off this topic.

“So then how did you end up with John, did you adopt?” Anne asked.

This wasn’t something he was comfortable with, he hadn’t even completely told Lindsey what had happened. He was about to tell them the same lie he had told Lindsey, that his parents just couldn’t come back for him, but Lindsey came to his rescue.

“Drinks, anyone?”

Sherlock graciously took a drink and mouthed a thanks to his friend. 

“Sherlock, you should tell them about your job! My dad loves the type of work you do.”

Thankful for the topic change, the group continued talking together and it wasn’t long before the children woke up and guaranteed that Sherlock wouldn’t have to talk about John’s past anymore. 

~

A few hours had passed and Sherlock sat near the faux fireplace in Lindsey’s house. Things had calmed down a bit with Lindsey trying to figure out dinner and now Sherlock was chatting with Lindsey’s parents again. Conversation came more comfortably since they had noticed Sherlock didn’t like to talk about John’s mother. Beside them, was a tree adorned with many of those special moments ornaments, and all of Lindsey’s children’s school projects, unlike the trees Sherlock had grown up with. Nathan and Derek were racing around it with their action figures trying to pass time. 

John, who was finally crawling, was going after the ball Lauren was rolling around for him to chase. Lindsey had given everyone a special early gift of Christmas sweaters and forced them all into them, even Sherlock. It had a reindeer with a glowing red nose and shades. He looked over at the little sweater that Lindsey had bought for John. It had a christmas tree on it and little red and gold bells for the ornaments.

“Dinners ready!” Lindsey screamed into the living room. Sherlock picked up John and walked over to the kitchen. He played with his sons little bells and watched him shriek with joy.  
They all sat at the small table filled with food and indulged in Lindsey surprisingly great cooking skills. She had brought out Lauren’s old high chair for John and gave him a small plate of mashed potatoes and corn. Sherlock had fed John some of the mashed potatoes and everything was fine until John wanted to try feeding himself. Sherlock let him try and was quite entertained at how his son was doing.

John was stirring the potatoes and trying to get the food into his mouth. Sherlock watched him out of the corner of his eye and laughed every time John missed his mouth. He watched as John looked over him trying to figure out how a spoon worked and the blond eventually gave up and use his hands. John must have noticed his father giggling at him because suddenly a glop of mashed potatoes landed atop Sherlock’s head. The loud table went still but as soon as John started laughing everyone else joined in. Sherlock chuckled and wiped off the potatoes as best as he could and decided to start helping John eat again.

After dinner it was almost time for presents, they couldn’t open them until they skyped Lindsey’s husband. Earlier Nathan had asked how to tell when it was 8 o’clock, and now he was waiting by the mantel for the clocks small hand to reach 8. Derek and Lauren, however, weren’t as patient. They were both trying to catch a peek at their presents every chance that they got. As soon as their mother would leave the room or their grandparents stopped paying attention, the two would rush over and shake the present in hopes of figuring out what it was. Sherlock gave them a glare at every one of their attempts and they would stop for awhile but pick up the habit again after their mother left them. 

“Just let them be,” Spencer told Sherlock after he had stopped the children for the fourth time from opening their presents, “They like the attention, and if they do open it, Mum will find out.”

Sherlock raised an eyebrow at her. “And you’ve realized this how?”

This was the first time Spencer had ever talked to Sherlock voluntarily; he always had to force something out of the thirteen-year-old, so he was curious to see how far he could carry this  
conversation. 

“They get like this every time we have a party,” she stated, looking down at her phone. “They keep doing something they aren’t supposed to until people stop paying attention.”

“Anything else you’ve seemed to notice about your family?”

Spencer stopped typing on her cell for a second as if she was debating if she wanted to continue on with the conversation. She decided to keep talking to Sherlock, and it turned out that once you got her going you couldn’t get her to stop.

Sherlock and Spencer conversed about her family's nervous ticks and such, and Sherlock was extremely impressed. He taught her a few of tricks, like creating a Mind Palace to store information. Hers was just a Mind Clubhouse for now, but Sherlock had no doubt it would need more than a few additions over time. They spoke with one another until the they heard Nathan scream.

“It’s time!”

As Lindsey started up the computer, adults grabbed chairs to sit in, and the children took a seat on the floor and waited by the desk for the call to go through. The ringing stopped, and the blue screen changed to an image of a man that you could clearly tell was Lindsey’s husband. All of the children perked up and Sherlock began to notice their father’s features on them. Derek and Lauren had their father’s eyes and mischievous, and Nathan had his wavy brown hair and thin face. The only person you couldn’t see him in was Spencer, who was like a replica of her mother.

“Happy Christmas, daddy,” Lauren screamed and waved vigorously at the monitor. 

“Happy Christmas, sweetheart,” he said through a laugh. “Happy Christmas everyone.”  
They all waved and wished him a Happy Christmas as his hazel eyes traveled around the room until they landed on Sherlock and John.

“And who might those two be?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, I’m sorry, Liam this is Sherlock and John, some friends that I made at Tesco’s. Sherlock, this is Liam.” 

After a small introduction, the children begged their father to let them open their presents and even before Liam could even say yes, all four of them were running for their gifts sitting under the tree. Everyone was opening presents and laughs and smiles were shared around the room as everyone opened each others gifts.

Nathan got some more toy soldiers and a fighter plane, Derek got some toy cars he’d obviously been hoping for, and Lauren got a new doll house to replace Spencer’s old broken one. Spencer seemed to be the happiest of the four at her gift. She had gotten makeup and her father told her jokingly that she better not use it to get any boys, though Sherlock could see the small hint of tears forming at the corners of Liam’s eyes.

Lastly Sherlock watched as John attempted to open his small present. It was a set of building blocks with the elements on it. Lindsey gave Sherlock a “baby’s first” book. He raised an eyebrow at her.

“You’ll regret not making one earlier,” was all she said and went back to watching the children.

They talked about each other and the baby and what had happened since Liam was gone, and the family was having fun. They talked with him until someone came and told him he had to go. Tears were in everyone’s eyes as they said their goodbyes and last Happy Christmases. When the call ended, there was a slight gloom over the apartment, but soon spirits were lifted when John went to play with Derek and his new toys.

The night went on, and the family chatted with one another until one by one the children went to sleep. John was the first to sleep, and Lindsey laid him in the crib that was for her soon to come baby. The rest followed suit starting with the youngest, Lauren, and ending with oldest, Spencer. Lindsey’s parents left after midnight and soon it was just Sherlock and Lindsey.  
They stayed up talking about the redhead’s baby again. They chatted about names and how the baby wasn’t due for a few weeks until eventually Lindsey drifted off to sleep in the armchair. Sherlock decided that he would just stay the night - since he didn’t want to wake John - and get some cases done. The pale man got comfortable on the couch, picked up his phone, and searched for cases to solve. Never had he thought that he would have a Christmas like he had tonight.

~

Sherlock was still awake when Lindsey woke up suddenly with a look of shock on her face. 

“You all right?” he asked, concerned that something was wrong. It was a few seconds before she answered.

“Sherlock,” she said in a soft calm voice after taking a deep breath, “Skype my husband.”

“What, why?” the pale man responded. “You know they won’t take the call.”

“Sherlock, Skype my husband.” Her voice was firmer now.

“But Linds-,” 

“SHERLOCK, SKYPE MY BLOODY HUSBAND, YOU FUCKING GIT!”

Sherlock jumped with surprise, and Spencer rushed into the living room at the sound of her mother’s screams.

“Sherlock, call a cab,” she shouted. Spencer seemed to be the only one who knew what was going on.

Learning his lesson from the last time he asked questions, he went out and hailed a cab. It took him a few moments to realize that the baby was coming.

Rushing back up the stairs to help his friend to the cab, he could hear John’s screams from the bedroom and all of the younger children were wake. Taking charge of the situation quickly, he put his arms around Lindsey and started to lead her downstairs.

“Spencer, you’re in charge until your grandparents get here.”

“But I want to go with Mum.”

“Well, I don’t think the hospital will appreciate seven people trying to squeeze into a room together.” 

Letting out a sigh, she agreed and helped Sherlock bring her mother out the door.

The two walked down the steps, and, with his nerves high, Sherlock was rushing Lindsey down the steps to prevent her from having the baby on the floor.

“SHERLOCK, YOU FUCKING PRAT, DON’T RUSH ME!”

The fearful man slowed and looked over at Spencer and mouthed, Is she always like this?

The smaller redhead just nodded and tried comforting her mother.

The two loaded Lindsey into the cab, and, before he shut the door, Sherlock reminded Spencer to try and call her father. She nodded and ran back inside, and Sherlock hoped she would be able to take care of all her siblings.

Everything was going swell in the car ride until Lindsey’s contractions got closer.

“YOU DAMN MUPPET, TURN FUCKING LEFT.”

“Hey lady, this is my cab, I get to chose which way we go.”

“YOU SON OF A BITCH I’M HAVING A BABY AND I NEED TO BE AT THE HOSPITAL.” 

“Hey, you can’t talk to me like tha-”

“Sir,” Sherlock interrupted, Lindsey had a death grip on his shoulder and was close to strangling him if she decided to move her hand.  
“If you would like to keep your life and your job I highly suggest that you listen to her.” Sherlock threatened the driver though the rearview mirror but only got a dirty look. The Lindsey and the driver were in a row for the rest of the ride, and if she wasn’t pregnant Sherlock was almost sure they would have been kicked out.

During the ride there, Lindsey’s parents had called to say that they had arrived and everything was fine but they couldn’t get a hold of Liam. Sherlock thought it’d be best if he didn’t put more stress on his friend and decided to withhold that information until later.

At the hospital Sherlock got Lindsey a wheelchair and, after explaining to a dozen nurses that he was not her husband, they took Lindsey into a room. As the redhead shrieked in the birthing room, Sherlock made quick call to his brother.

“Mycroft?” Sherlock said once his brother answered the phone.

“Yes, Sherlock,” his brother sighed, “what do you want?”

“I’d like to trade in a favor.”

Sherlock spoke in a low voice to his older brother and hung up before Mycroft could refuse.

~

The tall man sat in the chairs outside Lindsey’s room until he heard a demonic shout.  
“SHERLOOOCK!”

A nurse rushed over to where he was sitting and said he could come in. Never had Sherlock thought he would have to witness a birth. As he entered the room the redhead looked at him and simply said, “Hold my hand.” Her voice was tight with pain and a layer of sweat was on her body. Sherlock went over to help his friend and felt his hand get crushed as soon as it was in Lindsey’s grip. The awkward man tried to give Lindsey words of encouragement but only got scolded at every attempt. 

At the 2 hour mark, Liam had arrived at the hospital and took Sherlock’s pace at Lindsey’s side. She was in tears, although Sherlock wasn’t sure if it was because of her husband or the baby, and was gripping Liam’s hand harder than she had his, if possible. During the small transition of Sherlock trading places with Liam he gave a quick nod of thanks for getting him there.

A few more hours later, suddenly there was a panic in his friend’s room. They asked Sherlock if he could leave, and he went back to the chairs outside the room. Everyone’s voices inside were raised, and Lindsey breaths got quick and short with shrieks at every pause. Suddenly, small scream joined Lindsey and the room got quiet. After a few moments of shuffling, a nurse came over and told Sherlock he could come in. Lindsey sat in the hospital bed looking exhausted, but there was nothing but joy on her face as she looked down at her child.  
The baby in her arms was so small and even its cries seemed petite. Liam stood beside his wife, small tears in the corner of his eyes. They both looked up at the sound of Sherlock clearing his throat. Lindsey’s smile widened as she explained.

“Her name is Robin.”

“Robin Eleanor Phillips,” Her husband finished.


	6. The London Zoo

When the weather caster from channel nine had announced it was going to be a beautiful afternoon next week, Lindsey was already planning. Since she’d caught ear that London Zoo was having a coupon for children under the age of 12 the redhead planned the date with Sherlock. Although he hadn’t been to adamant about it, John had over heard the call and was begging with his gibberish.

“I wanna go to the zoo,” John squealed from the sitting room. He’d abandoned his little army men that he had gotten for his birthday and ran over to Sherlock. “I wanna go see the fishies, Daddy!” John tugged on the edge of Sherlock’s collared shirt and gave his father the puppy eye’s he only made when he really wanted something. Sherlock let out a sigh.

“You heard the boy,” the voice teased from the other end. It was a week later and now Sherlock, Lindsey, Liam, and all of the children were gathered at the entrance of London Zoo. After paying the large fee for the group, Sherlock let Lindsey guide him, John, and the rest of the family through the zoo. They stopped at the aquarium first so John could see the fish he’d been so adamant about. He and everyone else were immediately attracted to the small exhibit where they could touch and play with the fish. 

As Sherlock watched from the side, he noticed that the entire group seemed to be enjoying themselves, even Spencer who had finally reached her rebellious teenage stage. She was telling the oldest boy, Nathan, the names of some of the fish in the tank. Derek and Lauren were splashing each other with the water while Lindsey told them to act civilized, and her husband, Liam, was hiding his laughter behind her. John and Robin, Lindsey’s youngest, seemed to be quite excited about something in their little corner. They were whispering to one another and giggling. Robin peaked over John’s shoulder and quickly went back to giggling with with her friend. 

Sherlock, knowing the two were up to no good, like always, went over to investigate. The friends didn’t notice Sherlock until he tapped Robin on the shoulder.

“Hello lads,” he said. Robin jumped and John let out a gasp. They both spun around and gave Sherlock the biggest smile that could fit on their faces.

“Hi, Daddy.”

“Hi, Uncle Sherlock,” they said in unison.

“You two seem to be having fun,” Sherlock said causally, “do you want to let me in on your little secret?”

“No,” they said together.

Sherlock watched as Robin’s eyes quickly glanced to John’s back. There was a small puddle forming behind him and Robin’s left pocket was wet from something. Sherlock rolled his eyes; nothing seemed to surprise him anymore with these two.

“Johnnn,” Sherlock said accusingly to the two-year-old.

“Yeesssssss?” John looked his father in the eyes and held them there in defiance. Sherlock loved it when John tried to challenge him, even though it never worked. It was like a fun little game that only John would dare play with him. After about 30 seconds, John accepted that he had no chance of winning this fight and showed his father what he had hidden behind him.  
Seeing that John had given up, Robin followed his lead. Together the devils had managed to stash a sea urchin, some coral, and few a starfish all in their trouser pockets. After Lindsey had finished scolding Robin for being ridiculous and Sherlock telling John “nice try” they continued on their adventure through the zoo.

They admired the tigers for a short while and followed the path to the petting zoo. Everyone got a stamp on their hand and a cup of feed before entering the pen with all the farm animals. Sherlock watched from the corner with Lindsey as John, Robin, and Lauren ran around giving a little bit of feed and love to all the animals they could. Sherlock heard his friend let out a sigh as she snapped a picture of her husband and Nathan trying to feed the llama only to get spit on.

“They all grow up so fast, Sherlock,” Lindsey said out of nowhere, “Don’t let the time slip away from you.” Sherlock was shocked by the suddenness of Lindsey’s comment and followed her gaze to see what inspired them. She was watching Spencer trying not to be interested in the baby goats. She had been trying to act more adult, ever since she became a teen that year, which made her seem more childish. “I wish they’d just stay small forever”

Sherlock had only been a father for a short amount of time but already knew what she meant. Looking over at John, the man could tell that these happy simple moments wouldn’t last forever. The two stayed watching over the children for awhile before John showed up next to his father with a gift.

“Daddy, come here!” John squealed interrupting Sherlock’s thoughts. The boy had gotten a black sheep to follow him almost all the way over to his father. Sherlock walked over the rest of the way and felt a small smile creep onto his face as he went over and bent down next to his son and the black sheep. John took one hand and put it on Sherlock’s head and the other into the sheep’s thick wool. Sherlock felt John’s hand scrunch and ponder for a moment. 

“I knew it! It feels just like your hair, Daddy,” the blond said proudly with the biggest smile. Sherlock let out a loud laugh and heard Lindsey chuckle from behind him as a flash came from her camera. Never could Sherlock be so proud of his son.

~

The day passed, and many more animals were seen, and even more pictures were taken. They saw monkeys, birds, and lions as they traveled further into the zoo. The butterfly house seemed to be one of the favorites though, as the children ran around chasing anything that moved. 

Sherlock noticed his boy slowing down as his little two-year-old legs reached their limit. The brunette went over and lifted John into his arms to give him a rest from running. The two walked around for a bit until something caught Sherlock’s eyes that he knew John would love. He walked over to a tall bush and Sherlock showed the blond a Danaus plexippus that was resting there.

“A dananas per-” John tried. Sherlock giggled at his son’s attempt, “You can call it a monarch butterfly too, John” The pair stood still as they watched it crawl around the leaf until John interrupted.

“Can I touch it, Daddy?” John whispered as he reached his small hand towards it. Almost as if on command, the butterfly flew up and landed on John’s small nose. The boy let out a giggle that spooked the insect, and it fluttered onto Sherlock’s head. John watched the butterfly in awe as it opened and closed its orange and black dotted wings. His father carefully took his finger and lifted it towards the bug. He got the butterfly to crawl onto finger and slowly moved it towards John. The blond immediately mimicked his father and stuck his finger out in front of him. As the bug crawled from Sherlock’s hand to John’s, the two year old pursed his lips to prevent himself from laughing. 

The two of them watched the butterfly as is delicately crawled around John’s hand. 

“Time to go!” Lindsey called when she had all her kids in a group. John looked up at his father with a frown and then back at the butterfly; he understood that as much as he loved the bug he would have to let it go. John pulled it up to his face and whispered, “Be safe,” and put the butterfly back on the bush. Sherlock saw the flash of a camera and knew Lindsey had taken another picture of the two for the day. 

~

As the sun dropped lower to the ground, it was time to leave the zoo. The group had managed to reach every exhibit, and everyone was exhausted. Robbin was asleep in her mother’s arms and Derek in his father’s. Nathan was practically dragging Lauren behind him, and Spencer kept complaining about her feet being dead. 

Sherlock was tired from the long day as well. He turned to ask John if he was ready to go only to discover the boy wasn’t at his side. The brunet felt a wave of panic pass over him.

Where’s John?!

He look up at Lindsey to tell her only to see that everyone already had a panicked look. Sherlock hadn’t just said the words in his head, but aloud as well, and now everyone was panicked. They all stood there frozen at the park exit for a few moments until Spencer snapped them out of their dazes. 

“Mum, I’ll take Nathan and go back to the African area. I’ll text you if I find anything.” Spencer grabbed her little brother’s hand and dragged him behind her. For the first time, Spencer was acting more like an adult than when she actually tried. 

Sherlock watched Spencer walk off, got his senses back, and gave out directions.

“Liam, you can go and check the aquarium. Lindsey go and notify the front desk and then wait here just in case John shows up.”

“I wanna help, Uncle Sherlock,” piped up Lauren. Whatever exhaustion that was in her earlier was gone with the news of her favorite cousin going missing.

Sherlock bent down to be at eye level with her.

“Right now, you need to stay with your mother and Robin, but do you recall John telling you anything before he went missing?”

The four-year-old look down at the floor and thought back to anything had said to her. 

“I don’ remember, all he said was that he really liked the aminal.”

Sherlock felt his hope shirk slightly but gave the girl a smile.

“That’s swell, Lauren, thank you.” He looked up at Lindsey. “I’m going to look up this wing. if Liam comes back, tell him to check the other side.”

Sherlock raced up and down the paths trying to think of a place John would be. He felt his heart racing as he checked by the gorillas. He felt so stupid for not making sure that John was by his side the entire time. The entire day Sherlock had made sure that he could see John, but the one time he looked away his son disappeared.

The tall man’s panic increased when he didn’t see John at the tiger cages. He skipped everything that was indoors or had a ticket booth because everything was closed. Families gave the pale man glances, but none offered any help. Sherlock raced further up the path until he reached the end of it at the monkey kingdom. Sherlock felt his stomach drop; there was nowhere else to go. 

What if someone took him?

He felt his world spin and his stomach twist at the thought. How could have let this happen? He was always so careful, and now, when it mattered most, Sherlock had failed. Trying to grab onto any hope he had left, the man phoned Lindsey.

“No, Sherlock, we haven’t had any luck here either. Security is looking, and Liam is searching the other path. Spencer didn’t see anything but she’s going through again to double check.” Sherlock didn’t respond to the news, he just felt himself spiraling down into a void within himself. There were some many questions of “what if’s” and “why’s” that it was hard to hear anything.

“Sherlock? Sherlock, hun, I need you to send me a picture of John so security can find him, okay? I gave them a description of him but a picture would be better.” After a few moments of silence passed between the line Linsey said, “It’ll be all right, I promise,” and hung up the phone

Sherlock didn’t do anything for a moment and kept the phone at his ear. That call had gotten rid of his last bit of hope. The brunet couldn’t process what was happening anymore. Sherlock was feeling so much emotion at once that he couldn’t process all of it and get his body to move at the same time. The longer he stood there, the farther he felt himself fall into a void. 

It wasn’t until Sherlock felt his phone vibrate in his hand and he instinctively looked down at notification. It was a text from Greg, but behind that was a picture of him and his son. It was a picture of Sherlock playing with John and his army dolls on the floor of the flat. They both had wide grins and their face, John caught mid-laugh. There was so much life in the boy’s eyes.

That was what brought Sherlock back to reality. He knew in his gut that his son was safe and that they would find him of it was the last thing he did. Sherlock opened his phone and searched for the picture Lindsey had wanted before he went searching again. The brunet opened his photo album and scrolled through a few photos until he felt himself stop. 

On his screen was a photo of John standing behind the black sheep at the petting zoo and giving the camera a huge smile. For whatever reason Sherlock just knew that his son would be there. The man shoved his phone into his pocket and raced as fast as he could to the petting zoo. 

Sherlock’s saw the front gate and didn’t stop. He jumped over it and raced over to the feeding pen, behind him the employees gave a incredulous look. The man ignored them and searched the pen for his son. Sure enough, he saw a little blond boy standing next to a black sheep with his hands buried in the wool. 

“John,” Sherlock screamed as he raced over and scooped up the boy into his arms. Sherlock pulled his son’s head into his chest and held on so tightly. Tears streamed down Sherlock’s face, and he felt himself shaking as he ran his hands through John’s hair. The two stayed there together in silence for awhile until John started pushing away from his father’s chest.

“Daddy, I can’t breathe.”

Sherlock reluctantly let go of John and placed him back on the floor to let him catch his breath. Never had Sherlock felt so much relief in his life. Never had he been so scared. Never had he been so happy. Never had he been so angry.

“John, why did you leave?” he asked, exasperated, giving his son a stern look. 

John looked down at the floor and played with his hands,

“I just wanted to say bye to Curlock,” the blond pouted. “Don’t be m cross with me, Daddy.”

Sherlock felt all the anger inside him melt away. There was so much kindness in his boy’s heart, more than he could ever have himself. Sherlock let out a breath that he didn’t know he was holding in. He felt a smile find its way into his lips. Sherlock pulled his son into a hug and held him close again.

“I love you, John.”

**Author's Note:**

> If there are some cute baby things that you would like to see Sherlock and the baby doing leave it in the comments. It would really help me out if you did.


End file.
